Renewable energy vs. cultural preservation - Solar, Wind and Land: Conflicts in Renewable Energy Development - page 139

in excess of $2,000 even after the imposition of “reasonable restrictions,”
the statute may still overly favor solar energy. Nevertheless, the statute is a
relatively reasonable and straightforward way of governing with what can
be a very complex and fact-specific problem.
Offshore wind energy and cultural preservation at sea
One other potential clash between renewable energy development and
cultural resources involves the pristine ocean areas where developers are
increasingly seeking to site offshore wind farms. As the following account
describes, indigenous peoples nearly halted a prominent offshore wind
energy project in the United States by attaching cultural significance to the
ocean areas where it was to be built. Although their challenge ultimately
proved unsuccessful, these groups exposed an additional source of risk for
those seeking to develop offshore wind energy projects.
As described in Chapter 2 , when a developer first proposed building the
now-infamous Cape Wind project in the Nantucket Sound off the coast
of Massachusetts in 2001, the project seemed destined to become the first
commercial offshore wind energy project in the United States. Eight years
later, after enduring years of opposition in the permitting process, the
project finally received a favorable final environmental impact statement in
2009 and appeared on track to be constructed as planned. Then, in October
of that year, two Native American tribes cast new doubt on the project by
asking federal officials to place the entire 600-square-mile Nantucket Sound
on the Federal Register of Historic Places. 118
The Aquinnah and Mashpee Wampanoag tribes asserted, among other
things, that the Nantucket Sound itself was a “traditional cultural property”
and that untarnished views of the Sound were of crucial significance in their
“sunrise ceremonies.” 119 To the surprise of many involved, the National
Park Service agreed, officially determining in January of 2010 that:
Nantucket Sound is eligible for listing in the National Register as
a traditional cultural property and as an historic and archeological
property … that has yielded and has the potential to yield important
information about the Native American exploration and settlement of
Cape Cod and the Islands. 120
This finding required that Cape Wind's developer fulfill various additional
consultation and other requirements in connection with its permit appli-
cation, further delaying the development of the project.
Ultimately, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar approved the project in
spite of the historic preservation issues. 121 However, the tribes responded
by filing lawsuits challenging Salazar's decision, delaying the project even
more. As of late 2013, it appeared likely that construction work would
at last commence on Cape Wind within the next year. 122 Still, historic